


Shedding One's Skin Requires Losing One's Identity...

by fizzwizz15



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alpha!Sherlock, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, BAMF!John, Dubious Consent, M/M, Omega Verse, Omega!John, Pherenomes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-17
Updated: 2012-09-24
Packaged: 2017-11-14 10:22:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/514207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fizzwizz15/pseuds/fizzwizz15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a universe where being an Omega is incredibly rare and is something to be both hated and feared, John flees his home and goes into hiding when he discovers that he is one before his thirteenth birthday. Working hard and creating a new life for himself, John has beaten the odds and is now identified as a Beta doctor. This carefully constructed life goes flying out the window in a single day when someone is stabbed outside of his apartment and John tried to save the person's life. Then an extremely arrogant Alpha by the name of Sherlock Holmes turns up at his door.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One: The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> So I have dipped my toes into this side of the Sherlock fandom. I have to admit I am already addicted to writing it. This is my first fic posting on this site so I am slightly nervous as I love AO3 so much and numerous authors I love are also here. It is a whole different kettle of fish compared to ff.net. But I like the change. Anyhoo! I have nearly finished this story already so I thought I should begin posting chapters. Any crits would be great! Have to quickly add that John is named John Trevor at the start, but his last name will be changed to 'Watson' by the end of the chapter.
> 
> This first chapter really just setting up John's life and how it has played out till the present day. Enjoy.

The day John Trevor made the self-discovery that he was an Omega, he felt like he had wanted to die. John had presented earlier than what was considered ‘normal’. Thanks to the use of the bathroom mirror and a stolen medical book from the library, the life changing deduction had been made.

The ‘great discovery’ occurred a month before his thirteen birthday, the compulsory legal age of testing every Lower-Class child to see if they had either Beta or Omega qualities. All Alpha families were Upper Class and therefore never required the test. It was scientific knowledge that the Alpha genes ran dominant through all children produced in their bloodlines. Thus there was the systematic testing to always know the exact number of Omegas being produced so they could be paired up with a specifically chosen Alpha the day they turned eighteen. Breeding and producing children as soon as possible was of the utmost importance to try and keep the ratio balance between Alphas and Omegas.

But as each generation passed Omega numbers were becoming fewer and fewer, resulting in more Alphas being matched with Betas instead. The few Omegas who were being produced were immediately removed from their families and sent to a special institution where they would learn all of the customs and laws of their new role. Families would never see their child again and it soon became seen as a curse to be an Omega. Those who were bore the slang name “Chosen Ones” instead. It was meant to be an honour and a privilege, but instead it was something to be hated and feared. But all Betas and bonded Omegas never spoke out for fear of their lives.

The powerful Alpha families, the Lords of London, were ultimately the law and no family was more powerful than the Holmes clan. The Lower-Class feared all of them and so on the day John discovered that he was an Omega, he decided to take matters into his own hands and control his own destiny.

That night while his family slept, John packed his duffel bag with some clothes, all of his savings and a few meagre belongings and ran away. He left a note on the kitchen table for his family saying that he would return one day and begged them to never tell anyone that he existed. He knew his parents would understand what he meant. It worked in their favour that his family lived in the slums in Manchester. Everyone kept to themselves and homeless children went missing all the time, never to be found again. But every Lower-Class there knew those children were trucked off to the factories for work. That was the way of life.

The punishment for runaway Omegas though once identified, was to have their whole family arrested and used as bait to lure the Omega out of hiding. They would then be tortured until they were either killed or the Omega would surrender and come into custody. John knew his parents would be heartbroken he had left without saying goodbye, but this is exactly what they would have wanted for him to do. He could slip through the cracks in the system and remain unidentified. If he was careful enough he could live a free life disguised permanently as a Beta. He wouldn’t get his first ‘heat’ until he was eighteen so that gave him a few years to get his life in order. Until then his scent would remain unchanged which gave him an even greater advantage. He would figure something out but thankfully he looked older than most boys his age and could pass by for someone who looked roughly 15. 

He ran for hours in the dark, getting further and further away from his home, but John knew he needed somewhere to work where he could save up enough to be able to get out of England and go to America. That was the only viable plan, to seek asylum elsewhere. America had medical treatment available which helped Omegas to be able to contain their heat and delayed their fertility. 

Everywhere else in the world was slowly beginning to legalise this treatment but the entire span of Europe had banned it due to the numbers of Omegas being so low. England had the lowest numbers recorded out of the whole continent, thus stricter laws had been put in place to ban all possible contraception for Omegas. Betas were exempt from this rule though. It just wasn’t fair in any form whatsoever.

John hated it, he hated that he was an Omega. A ‘Chosen One’. What had he done to deserve this? What had his parents done to deserve this?

Wiping away unwanted tears as they ran down his face, John was determined that he was never going to be found out. That he was going to somehow make his way and be ok.

Fate turned out to be kind to him. Escaping the city had been easier than John had expected. A kind, middle-aged truck driver had taken pity on him and given him a lift from the outskirts of Manchester on his mid-nightly delivery run. They had driven all throughout the night and when morning came, John woke up in the passenger seat to find that they had stopped at an old crossroad in the country. The driver had let him out and had wished him luck before driving off. It wasn’t until the truck had disappeared off into the horizon that John had no idea where he was.

Turning around in a slow circle, taking in the lush green hills of the countryside, John couldn’t remember ever seeing such a beautiful sight, or breathing such clean. The spatial awareness made him miss home as he had never felt so alienated and alone. A lump rose in his throat, but John clenched his hands and swallowed it. There was no point on dwelling on the past when he had to look to the future. It didn’t make it hurt any less as he picked the road to his right and began to walk down it.

The hours began to slowly trail by and John had not seen a single car, truck or tractor. There seemed to be no sign of life at all.

A terrifying thought of not seeing another human being again entered John’s mind as he began to past a particularly large paddock. Glancing at it out of the corner of his eye he noticed that it was filled with cattle. The noise the livestock was making was rather a nice way to fill in the silence as he walked by them.

Then something happened.

Then fence was old and rather damaged and with a loud ‘CRACK’, suddenly half of the herd was on the road and running amuck everywhere. John paused as he suddenly found himself completely surrounded by cows. Having never been close to a real cow in his life, John was slightly nervous to say the least, but the large animals did not seem interested in him in the slightest. It seemed the long lines of flowers on the sides of the road were the cause of the stampede.

“Come back ‘ere ye bastards!” a loud male voice suddenly called out.

John turned his head to surprisingly see a rather spry elderly man running across the paddock out of seemingly nowhere, waving a wooden cane over his head in exasperation. Uncertain as to how to act, John repressed the automatic urge to wave back in greeting. “Do you need any help?” he called back loudly.

The strange man simply yelled back as he ran closer, “Oi! You! Boy! We need to get ‘em back inside the fence!”

John nodded, tightening his bag strap around him and immediately set himself to work. It had taken a while to gently herd all of the cows back into a new paddock, but John had stayed to help the old man fix the fence. After a chat and many grateful ‘thank you’ when all was mended, John suddenly found himself with an offer of having dinner and supper with the famer and his wife.

“But you don’t know me,” John said, unsure as to why he was being offered such kindness from a stranger, “I could be a burglar for all you know.”

The old, who had introduced himself as Hamish Watson, had laughed. “Oh, I have seen a few crooks in my time boy. You definitely ain’t one of ‘em.”

John just smiled. He did not say he was a runaway, but it hadn’t been too hard for Hamish to guess it. Instead of letting John walkaway, he instead invited the now exhausted boy back to his cottage on his farm. So John could rest up, a token of appreciation for his help. John happily accepted. This strange, eccentric man was excessively kind and John knew that he would be stupid not to take up the offer.

When they reached Hamish’s cottage John then met Alice Watson, Hamish’s wife o 62 years. She was just like her Hamish, completely bonkers. But the instant John stepped inside their home, he felt more safe and warm than what he had ever felt at his ‘real’ home. The thought made him want to cry as memories plagued him of his real family.

The pair fed John a hearty dinner and he ate until he felt he was fit to burst. Afterwards they all sat in the lounge room and in front of an open fire and John listened to tales of their life, stories of love, humour and some sadness. It was captivating. He fell asleep on the couch, listening to their rich voices as their words wrapped around him and followed him as he slipped into the realm of dreams.

In the morning when he awoke, shocked and surprised that he was still there, Hamish surprised him even further as he offered John a job as a farmhand. It did not take John long to say yes and accept the new position. He stayed there for the next three years. He worked hard there and was quickly ‘adopted’ by the couple as the son that they had never had. Despite being both Betas, they had been unable to produce children. John grew to love them and, while they would never replace his real parents, John was relieved to have them. He knew he would end up having to live alone so he enjoyed every moment he had with them.

The hard labour caused his body to get stronger and he learnt many important basic skills that ranged from mechanics to veterinary. During his sixteenth year though, Hamish died from pneumonia and Alice died only months later from a fever. John found himself alone once again in the world. 

But when the Watson’s attorney turned up at the cottage the day after their funeral, John was handed their will and was shocked to find that they had left everything they owned to him. The whole content of their bank accounts and estate was going to make him be an exceptionally wealthy man. The lawyer had discreetly forged a birth certificate for claiming proof that John had been their soon and he was instantly allowed new access to his new fortune, so long as he adopted the last name Watson.

Making the transition of changing his name was so easy that John was alarmed by how quickly he was already identifying himself as ‘John Hamish Watson’.

Not long after all of the legal matters were settled and the attorney had left everything in John’s hands, he knew deep down that now was the time to leave and begin his life in education. He had not attended any type of schooling since leaving his home, so he hired a carefully selected group of people to look after the farm and cottage. With future plans to expand it and continue the good work, knowing it was now in safe hands, John packed a suit case and moved to London.

Although only 16, people assumed he was at least 18 and John began attending classes again. Home schooling was the safest option and he paid for a very fast tracked education from tutors who were able to help him catch up on the years he had missed out on. Through his diligence and hard work that by the time John turned 18, he had caught up and had been able to take his successfully pass all of his A-levels. His mark was so good that he even managed to get an early offer to study medicine at university at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. 

His views on leaving England as soon as possible had changed over the years as he had furthered his education and had realised just how unfair the whole health system was for all Lower-Class citizens. Unless you were wealthy, then the chances of you getting some form of health care was nigh impossible at just how expensive it was. So, despite knowing of his first oncoming heat, John decided to pursue a medical career and enrolled. If he became a doctor he would be able to make a difference to those who were like him. He would be able to offer help to Omegas and others.

The day of his first heat, the day he had been dreading for the past five years, John had found the perfect place in London to hide away from everyone. A place long thought to have disappeared. Deep down in the ancient sewer pipes that ran under the city, John went into heat for the first time a week after he turned 18. It was an absolute agony for him.

No amount of reading had prepared him for experiencing being so sexually aroused that it physically hurt. No amount of masturbation helped and each time he brought himself to orgasm it only made the burning, aching feeling of wanting to be fucked worse.

After the first few orgasms, John was whimpering on the portable fold down bed he had brought down with him. It was set up in an old, forgotten room made of stone and he was lying so still for fear that if he moved even the slightest, he would literally go insane with need. The hormones running through John, making him feel so hot, sweaty and feverish, he severely began to question that if there was such a thing as God, he had a sick sense of humour. 

Social outcast from his fellow class, removed from his family, seen as nothing more than a breeding machine for the Upper Class and put through this agony all because of his biological makeup.

Yes, God must have a very cruel sense of humour and enjoyed watching them suffer. No one had ever said how bad the heat was, or that it lasted three whole days.

By the time it had ended, John was starved and severely dehydrated that his body had nearly shut down. Thankfully he had already planned ahead and packed enough supplies to last a week. He had even brought an inflatable lilo to sleep on. But by the time he had the strength and felt well enough to make it back to his small flat, John knew that from now on he was going to have to be careful and wash twice a day with the expensive Beta-scented body wash that all Betas were required to use.

To have a single scent for the sub-group made it easier to separate them from Omegas. But it hid John perfectly amongst them as the years continued to pass and he successfully graduated as a licensed doctor.

Every six months he would go into heat and he would hide below London in the sewers and writhe in his aroused agony. But no one suspected him to be any different from any other Beta and John felt that he would be forever safe.

During his medical school years he did many experiments on himself to try and change his Omega physicality and hormone levels. But no matter what he tried, he still went into heat every six months without fail. But one day John managed to get his hands on a new male hormone tablet from volunteering for a new medical trial. Upon ingesting, he found to his amazement that his heat was actually manageable and it had been reduced to a mere ache that allowed him to actually function and remain himself.

It even helped neutralise his regular scent even further, but no matter what he tried he could not hide his overwhelmingly sweet scent whenever he went into heat so he still hid himself away from everyone.

John procured a job at St Bart’s hospital as an intern and slowly worked his way up the level of ranks. His speciality was trauma which allowed him to eventually become in charge of the emergency and one of the best trauma doctors St Barts had ever seen. No one had ever questioned his bi-annual few days off and for John, life was good. Even though the Omega laws were now harsher and stricter, John enjoyed being able to live a free life. He had yet to meet another Omega though.

He visited his farm every few months, with a weekly stay at Christmas, and was overjoyed that even after twenty years of being in hiding after being taken in by strangers and given shelter; it was doing even better with every year. Life was indeed perfect, until someone was stabbed in the middle of the alley near John’s apartment and died under John’s hands whilst he had tried to save him. Not a day later, an extremely arrogant Alpha by the name of Sherlock Holmes was bombarding him with questions about exactly what had happened, despite having previously given the police a detailed statement.

It was during this encounter that John found his body suddenly craved for another.


	2. Meeting Sherlock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this madness?? All of the views, comments and kudos? Thank you very much! I am very humbled and happy that people like it. So once again, thank you very much. :D

Upon meeting his first glance after the apartment door was opened, viewing the much shorter man with a flick of his eyes, Sherlock Holmes didn’t see anything interesting in this Beta. He had already deduced everything he could about the man with a single glance. Yet another simple and stupid Beta. Dull. Obviously a doctor, but not good enough to have been able to save his only lead on his latest case. It involved a dangerous serial killer who had been trailing through the city for the past month. Fifteen victims so far with the body count expected to rise.

What was he to do now?

Eyeing the useless doctor with something akin to condescending annoyance, he then fired off all different questions and demanded answers. It was vital he knew everything because so many pieces were still missing in his mind. He needed to eliminate all of the potential possibilities as to what tied everything together. It was a three patch problem after all.

“I’m Sherlock Holmes from Scotland Yard, I’m here to take your witness report on what happened. Take me to where the victim was stabbed and go through what you did,” Sherlock ordered, briefly flashing DI Greg Lestrade’s stolen badge and briskly turning around before walking away.

Sherlock stopped walking at the precise murder scene outside, not needing to be guided at all, identifying the large blood stain still on the pavement. He crinkled his nose slightly at the acrid odour, it didn’t help his nose was so sensitive. John caught up and quickly introduced himself. Sherlock had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the courteous tone in his voice. Not caring to shake the hand extended towards him, Sherlock immediately began to question him. Better to just get this over and done with after all. As this ‘Dr. John Watson’ replied to each question and re-enacted to precise detail what he had done, Sherlock began to deduce the man with further ease.

He was obviously a morally good person, had never had a girlfriend, lived alone… Living a boring monotonous life where all that mattered was his job. Not worth Sherlock’s time because he hadn’t seen anything before hearing the victim’s scream when she had been stabbed. He hadn’t even seen anyone leaving the scene when he had rushed to the dying woman.

Boring, boring, boring.

But what Sherlock had not seen coming was when John snapped at him suddenly after a rather rude statement from the Alpha that insulted both him and his abilities as a doctor.

“I would have liked to have seen you do a better job at saving her life! Someone who had died in complete agony,” John growled, his heart thumping angrily in his chest. Looking the Alpha in the eye, John snarled, “Do not, ever, say something like that to me again.”

Sherlock frowned at John and opened his mouth to destroy the Beta with a few choice words. How dare someone of a Lower-Class talk to him like tha- what on earth?

His nostrils flared slightly as Sherlock inhaled deeply and could smell something minutely different in the man’s scent. A subtle change that had happened when his heart rate had increased and anger that was clearly running rampant in the smaller man.

Interesting…

John answered all of Sherlock’s short brief questions with just as brief answers, wishing the Alpha would just go away because his body was beginning to act up. He was starting to find it hard to focus when the Alpha’s scent was so alluring and one of the best things he had ever smelt. Why was it this Alpha? Working in the hospital had exposed him hundreds of Alpha patients over the years and he had remain unaffected. Not once had any provoked a reaction from him. So what was the deal with this one?

Sherlock peered at him extremely closely as he studied John and all it did was cause John to just glare at him, confused as to what the hell was his problem. “Why are you looking at me like that?” John finally demanded, having had enough of the uncomfortable silence. It was beginning to unnerve him more than he would like to admit.

He was not prepared for the next words to fall from the Alpha’s mouth.

“It doesn’t make sense that someone who had obviously come from a farming background in Sussex has ended up in London. Self-sustained completely, wealthy and you have no respect Alphas. You have lived alone the entire time you have been here and have never had a partner. So, care to explain?”

John’s jaw dropped open in amazement. How could this stranger know all of this?

“I…I inherited it from my grandparents. That was...amazing. How did you know all of that? I moved there when I was younger after both my parents had died,” John explained. Why on earth was he telling his life story to this Alpha? It certainly didn’t help that he was incredibly attractive and smelt so wonderful.

“I observed, how did they die?” Sherlock asked his face blank at receiving the compliment. The question jumped out of his mouth before he could help it, but a peculiar warmth was beginning to wash over him. The kindness of John’s words gave way to curiosity at the Beta to grow seeds in his mind. There had been no farce or negativity when he had spoken. The way his eyes had shown such genuine…

John raised his eyebrows in surprise at the question; surely this wasn’t necessary to the murder case. “Car accident,” he answered, frowning slightly now as suspicion began to creep through him.

While many things in his life was based upon lies, this was the one he wished wasn’t true. But it was. He had found out when he was seventeen upon returning to the area in Manchester where he had once lived, only to find out that his parents had been killed in a hit and run two years after he had left. It had been devastating. He had visited their grave and placed flowers before returning to London. He had not visited them since.

Sherlock’s eyes narrowed as the tumultuous emotions ran over John’s face. So many different muscles twitched John’s jaw all the way up to his eyebrows. What was this so alluring? And distracting for that matter? Why was it so interesting to watch him reliving what would have been an agonising part of his life?”

“Were they drunk?” Sherlock asked bluntly. That was the highest statistical cause of death in a car accident after all.

John’s face looked up as the question instantly brought him out of his reverie. “What? No! No they were not drunk!” he yelled slightly. “Now you listen to me you idiot! These questions are not related to whatever investigation you are doing, even though you obviously aren’t with the police.” John gave Sherlock a hard, stony expression, stepping forward and poking the Alpha in the shoulder as he spoke.

Sherlock was genuinely shocked at John’s reaction and he narrowed his eyes as he studied the doctor, who was no positively seething. John was defending himself like an Alpha would and was clearly not going to back down. How intriguing. But when John had looked at him only a minute ago with such astonishment and amazement, Sherlock was still stuck on why he had reacted like that. But now it was clear that John obviously wanted to be left alone, but it wasn’t because he was repelled by Sherlock, or even intimidated. He hadn’t even been rude to him or told him to piss off yet.

He obviously wanted to separate himself from Sherlock for some other reason, the only logical one was that he had realised his scent had changed also. Maybe it had been triggered by stress? That thought was immediately deleted. John was in a highly stressful job. Illogical that stress could be a contributor. Sherlock inhaled deeply again and was interested to notice that John’s scent had gone back to being…normal. Dull.

Beta’s scent never changed so why would this one’s? He certainly was not an Omega by any standards, most likely a hormone imbalance but even then that was extremely rare and had always shown obvious physical attributes. Not a change in scent. Hmm. It was increasingly becoming clear that this, Dr, John Watson was not as ordinary and dull as Sherlock had anticipated.

Suddenly stepping forward right into John’s personal space, Sherlock inhaled deeply again and found that there was still no change in the Beta’s scent.

Immediately John took a step back and looked somewhat aghast, “What the hell are you doing?”

Sherlock frowned and took another step closer, inhaling deeply, but was aggravated that the result was the same. It made no sense at all.

Taking a few more steps backwards, ensuring that there was some distance between them; John looked Sherlock up and down with an odd expression, “Do you go around sniffing every Beta you have interviewed like that?”

There was no anger in his voice but rather an uncertain annoyance that Sherlock did not know what to make of in this situation. But suddenly John’s pager went off loudly, making the doctor jump and breaking the rising tension instantly.

Checking it, John’s eyes went wide slightly before he glanced up at Sherlock. “I’m sorry but I have to go, I’ve been called in for an emergency.” Turning quickly, John began to run off towards his apartment. But something made him stop mid-run and turn back towards Sherlock who had not moved from his spot. Giving Sherlock a sudden smile, John gave him a small wave. “Good luck with the case, I hope you nail the bastard.”

Turning away, not waiting for a reply, John ran with his blood pounding in his ears as his body ached with Sherlock’s rich scent now fully embedded in his senses. He did not look back, even though his inner Omega silently begged him to. Opening the door to his apartment and running inside, John grabbed his case and then rushed to the hospital.

Sherlock not moved as he had watched John disappear out of his sight around a nearby corner. He couldn’t help but feel the need the out more about this… John.

After he had solved the case though, The Work always came first.

Suddenly his brilliant mind whirred into action as a new thought as to where the killer could be possibly hiding connected and Sherlock ran off down the street with a gleeful expression on his face.

######  John’s emergency call in lasted for a full 24 hours as a series of multiple car crashes flooded the emergency room and their beds were reached to full capacity. Each life was miraculously saved, but it had been exhausting work. When John finally left work and made his way him, he had a large smile on his face. It was long days like this that made being a doctor worthwhile. Finally walking up the stairs to the apartment door, relieved that he had taken the time to have a shower at work because then it meant that he could just go straight to bed, John suddenly stopped in his tracks only to have his nostrils flair at the strong scent of Sherlock that was now all over his door. Looking closer at the door handle, he noticed the angle in which it was turned. Someone else had turned it but not the full way round. Taking a step back and inspecting the welcome mat, he frowned at the fresh mud on it, and the size of the footprints. They were definitely not his own. Suddenly there was a loud crash inside his flat and instantly John unlocked the door and ran inside, brandishing his spare scalpel from his bag in his hand as a weapon. Knowing the flat better than the back of his hand, John didn’t even need to pause as he flicked on the light in the lounge room and was not surprised to see the sight of Sherlock lying in the middle of the room, on the floor. A flickering torch was currently free-wheeling across the floor away from the detective and towards John. Stopping it in its path with his foot, John bent down to pick it up whilst trying to collect his thoughts as anger began to bubble to the surface. Sherlock did not look surprised to see him at all. Knowing this caused John to somewhat hastily shut the door behind him and openly glare at the Alpha with frustration. “What the bloody hell are you doing here?!” he growled. “And how did you get into my flat?! I could have hurt you!” Sherlock rolled his eyes and got up off the floor in with a single graceful movement. Already beginning to straighten out his jacket, looking incredibly bored, he replied, “Oh please, picking locks is child’s play John.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be an update either tomorrow or the day after. :)


	3. Chapter Three: Not Quite As Planned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and comments! I will finish replying to them tomorrow as it is nearly midnight and the internet is being silly.

John’s frown deepened, but he quickly noticed Sherlock’s eyes dropping to the scalpel still being held in his hand. Glancing down at it too, John sighed and placed it on top of a nearby bookcase before crossing his arms, looking at the Alpha expectantly.

Sherlock blinked at him once, twice and remained silent. John waved one arm at him in an impatient gesture. “Well,” he asked.

Putting his hands in his pockets, Sherlock frowned back at him, “Well what?”

“What are you doing here Sherlock and why did you bother to break into my flat? Which, if you didn’t already know, is illegal?”

Scoffing at the insinuation of the law applying to him, Sherlock turned around to observe the room. “If you were going to call the police John, you would have done so by now.”

A thoughtful expression crossed John’s face. If it had been any other person intruding he knew he would have confronted them, just like he had with Sherlock. Suddenly feeling exhausted as the adrenaline hit began to fade, John sat himself down on the nearby couch. “I never said I was going to call the police.”

Surprise flashed briefly on Sherlock’s face before he smiled with a slight smirk, “Yes, that was obvious when you barged in here with no concern for your safety. Incredibly stupid really, even for you. I could have been anyone.”

John considered him for a few seconds in silence, but the pause was enough for Sherlock to narrow his gaze in slight suspicion. “Unless you had already known it was me before you came inside.”

Tilting his head to the side, John looked at Sherlock thoughtfully before replying, “Maybe, but you are the only visitor I have had since living here. And you are the only other person to have stepped on my door mat with feet as long as yours.”

Sherlock glanced down at his shoes and then looked at John with something that could nearly be called approval. “You do not let anyone into your life and yet you knew it was me in your apartment even though I had broken in. Despite the fact we had spent no more than fifteen minutes interacting over 24 hours ago,” Sherlock replied, his voice purring with such dark curiosity that John felt his heart skip a beat.

With every sentence Sherlock took a step towards John, getting closer and closer, yet the nervous man did not dare move from his position on the couch. The near predatory gaze from the Alpha prevented him from moving. It was only now that John was beginning to understand why Alphas considered themselves the head of the hierarchy of both classes. If a single look had this much of an effect on him, John was beginning to fear what a touch from Sherlock would accidentally unleash.

Suddenly Sherlock bent down and was eye level with him, practically nose to nose with John. Bright cerulean blue contrasting the deep hazel.

“Why is it you, Dr John Hamish Watson, are still in my mind after a whole day when no one new lasts more than a few minutes if they hold no relevance to my case? Now, tell me! HOW and WHY did your scent change?!” Sherlock growled, his voice lowering until it rumbled in his chest and John could feel it vibrate through the air and into him.

It was the sexiest thing John had ever heard in his entire life.

Despite every repressed instinct that was screaming inside of him to crumble and tell this gorgeous, (nearly overwhelming), Alpha all of his secrets, to stop fighting and finally submit. But John’s unbreakable resolve won through. He refused to allow his Omega-side rule him. There was more to him than that, he had fought so hard to get where he was. He was not going to change now.

John leant forward ever so slightly, his eyes boring into Sherlock’s as if he could see right through him. Sherlock had never felt so uncomfortable in his whole life. John’s scent had not changed once the entire time he had been here, not even in close proximity and Sherlock was at a loss. John was just staring at him silently, inspecting his face as if expecting to find some sort of meaning. Although Sherlock couldn’t comprehend as to what that could possibly be.

But Sherlock found that as he stared back that John’s face was much softer when up close. Not as harsh as when he was frowning. Hmm, yes he was rather aesthetically pleasing at this distance. How could this man be a Beta and have this sort of effect on him? Could there possibly be an exception to the rule of not being attracted to Betas?

John suddenly leant back and smiled in obvious amusement. “My scent may have appeared to have changed because the bonded Omega next door has been in heat for the past week. It gets everyone worked up at this time of year.”

Sherlock immediately frowned, “What?”

John pointed behind himself with his thumb towards the lounge room wall. “If you had stuck around for another half hour, you would have heard them going at it.”

Sherlock glanced at the wall and wrinkled his nose in slight disgust, “It would not have been something I would have wanted to hear.” He quickly looked back at John, his mind whirring at the possibility it could have been a bonded Omega triggering the scent in John. He had never heard of such a reaction. But surely it had been John’s fault? “How has it come to be that you are living next to a bonded Omega?”

John shrugged, “Are you interested in celebrities?”

Shaking his head once, Sherlock looked rather insulted at the question. “I have no interest in such superficial, unnecessary rubbish. Pop culture is not important.”

He looked back at the offending lounge room wall, deep in thought and John felt himself internally relax. Having the wound up Alpha finally calm down caused the overwhelming musky smell in the apartment to disperse slightly.

John was constantly amazed that un-bonded Alphas did not realise just how many pheromones they released the more emotional they got. Anger was the worst for it. Now his apartment was going to be entrenched with the enthralling scent of a gorgeous Alpha who he did not need in his life and risk discovering his secret. Fantastic…

Sherlock looked away, more than slightly disturbed he had seemingly miscalculated everything about his original deduction, and turned away abruptly. Standing up fully, he walked away towards a leather armchair in the corner of the room. Sitting down rather heavily on it, drawing his feet up onto the cushion, he crossed his arms over his chest and began to visibly sulk. 

The sight reminded John of a spoilt child. The surprise at seeing such a sight, the abrupt change of Sherlock’s behaviour, that an Alpha was acting this way? That an adult was acting this way as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

It was…refreshing and calming. There was a restoration of balance in the apartment as John regarded the man in front of him with a blank expression. Ok, so the only Alpha who had ever caused a reaction in him was also, in retrospect, a large child.

Perfect.

“Cuppa?” John offered suddenly, he certainly felt like he needed one. There were a million questions running through his mind and John knew that there was no chance of him being able to ask Sherlock about himself, as much as he desperately wanted to. The man in his lounge room was such an enigma that John wanted to know more about him.

Sherlock nodded automatically, not listening at all as he was deep in his own thoughts. He did not know much about the physiology of Omegas and how they were chemically different from Alphas and Betas. He had never met an un-bonded Omega in his life because Mummy had not yet found a suitable Omega for him to bond with. Not that he really had much choice in the matter as it was up to the head of each Alpha family to choose all potential Omegas for their family members. Mycroft already had one, so why didn’t he already? The few bonded Omegas he had actually met had been at various important family functions, they were always so dull that Sherlock still deliberately went out of his way to try and avoid them, had seemed rather autonomous. They had only been allowed to talk to others when given permission by their Alphas, all high government officials and important members of society. Sherlock had given up on the possibility of bonding with an Omega at a young age once he had read the statistics on how low the birth rate of Omegas actually was. Why bother to learn about what he could never have? It certainly didn’t help that Mycroft had an Omega of his and he seemed silently ‘happier’ since they had bonded. Sherlock could see it clearly though, Mycroft had needed to go on a diet again.

Suddenly the quiet clatter of noise in the kitchen drew Sherlock out of his reverie and he took to watching John move about with a visible air of calm and ease. Despite the fact he practically had a stranger in his home. A stranger, who had broken in, stood directly in his face and sniffed him like a bloodhound. Sherlock oddly felt uncomfortable at his actions and slight guilt. He had desperately wanted to provoke some sort of reaction from this man, his current puzzle, but instead he got offered a cup of tea and some biscuits. 

A steaming white mug along with a plate of biscuits was suddenly placed on the small table next to the armchair and Sherlock glanced down at the perfect colouring of the liquid, raising an eyebrow. Earl Grey, chronic tea drinker it would seem. His eyes studied John’s back as the man made his way back to the couch. He could practically see the ease and anticipation in the Beta of looking forward to enjoying a cup of tea. Such domestics, they had never held a place in Sherlock’s own life and nor did he ever want them. But, he had to admit, the tea did smell rather delicious and he was feeling slightly peckish.

His suspicions were confirmed on the first sip tat John knew how to make a good cup of tea. It was kitting a spot he had not realised needed filling and Sherlock shut his eyes at the feeling of the hot tea settling in his stomach.

“Did you end up catching the killer?”

The curiosity was evident in John’s voice as Sherlock opened his eyes and turned his gaze to the smaller man. John obviously hadn’t read today’s paper. The gentle inquisitiveness was so clear on John’s face that Sherlock knew the man would not be offended if he said no. But how he had marvelled at Sherlock’s genius before made the Alpha wonder if the Beta would react the same way again.

Sherlock took his time in having another sip of his tea before answering, “Yes.”

“How?”

Unable to repress the small smile at John’s astonished face, Sherlock placed his cup of tea back on the table and began to explain everything. It was a long, complicated tale but by the end of it John sat in complete silence for a few seconds before his face broke out into a smile full of amazement and awe.

“That was fantastic,” he gushed and Sherlock felt warm prickles of warmth buzz over his body at the praise. “So you’re a private detective then?”

“Consulting detective, only one in the world, considering I invented the job,” Sherlock replied but paused briefly. “That’s not the usual reaction I get,” he added, giving John a wary look.

“What do people normally say when you…”

“Deduce.”

“Yes, deduce them?”

“Piss off,” Sherlock answered, smirking slightly. John’s face softened slightly before looking away with a slight frown.

He got up off his chair and collected both his and Sherlock’s empty cups and took them out into the kitchen. Sherlock was already beginning to analyse John’s unusual reaction when John suddenly called out from the kitchen, “They are all idiots to think that.”

Sherlock’s ears perked at the tone of sincerity in John’s voice and blinked at the empty door way in surprise. When John walked back into the lounge room, the frown of disapproval still clear on his face, Sherlock found himself studying the Beta with the utmost scrutiny. Looking for any sign of dishonesty, but there was nothing there to fault. The longer he watched John, Sherlock found himself not wanting to look away. Not wanting to look away from John’s obvious displeasure at how others don’t appreciate his genius. Why did he care what others thought of him? John barely knew him yet here he was, defending him from the masses. Such emotion on the Beta’s face… What was the range John could possibly show? It certainly would be fascinating to catalogue them all if given the chance.

Sherlock grinned at the thought and replied, “Yes, they are.”

John looked at him, surprised at the change of mood but he found himself suddenly smiling too and within seconds they began to find themselves both laughing. Neither not quite sure why, but it seemed that it was called for in that moment.

The night eventually ended with Sherlock leaving out of the apartment door, after having giving John a mumbled apology for breaking into his flat. 

John, completely taken aback by the gesture, grinned and followed Sherlock outside the flat. Shivering slightly as a large gust of wind blew by, he replied, “Please don’t do it again. All you had to do was knock and if I’m not home, leave a note.”

Sherlock gave John a knowing smirk, “You have a hidden key on the underside of your door mat hidden under the loose seam on the top right hand corner. I’d wait till you came back.”

John’s mouth dropped open and Sherlock merely smiled, “Good night John.”

Before John was able to reply, Sherlock turned around and ran off into a nearby stairwell and out of sight. Eyeing the ‘welcome’ mat suspiciously, John immediately knelt down and retrieved the hidden from the exact spot Sherlock had described. How the Alpha had known it was there was beyond him, but the fact that Sherlock had taken the time to pick the lock instead of just using the spare key was a little worrying.

“Need to come up with a new spot for this…” John grumbled under his breath as he walked back inside his flat and shut the door behind him.


	4. The Explosive Factor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left comments and kudos. :)

John was dismayed when, upon re-entering his flat, he discovered his _whole_ flat smelt of _Sherlock Holmes_. John had so many thoughts as to why a Holmes, the most powerful Alpha family in England besides the Royal Line, was running around as a ‘consulting detective’, but as John explored his flat he was horrified to find that Sherlock had gone through nearly _everything_.

He had obviously been looking for something, anything that would have explained why John’s scent had changed. Knowing that Sherlock had affected him to the point that his Omega scent had started coming through on its own caused John to feel terrified as he carefully inspected each room.

How was he going to completely repress his scent from Sherlock each time he saw him, when there was a high running risk that there was the chance his body might betray him again and react on its own?

Maybe he should increase his dosage of male hormone pills and wash three times a day instead of two. He could do this. But when John walked into his bedroom, he questioned his entire logic when Sherlock’s scent hit his nose. It was strong and thick in this room and John paled when he noticed that it was _all over his bed_. 

What on earth?! Why had he done that? Stupid, bloody Alpha!

All John could be thankful for as he finished his inspection around his home, was that the inconspicuous safe hidden in the towel cupboard in the bathroom was untouched. It was where he kept his medication and all of his records. He could never be too careful after all.

When he finally got to bed, the scent of Sherlock all over the pillows and mattress caused John’s inner Omega to awaken with a vengeance and John found himself incredibly aroused to the point that he had to get himself off three times in a row. His nose pressed and buried into his pillows as he did, allowing himself to become entirely surrounded by Sherlock’s scent and become intoxicated by it. After the third time, John was still shuddering and shaking after his powerful release but found that his arousal had only _slightly_ abated. But John quickly found that he could not fall asleep on his own bed for fear of Sherlock’s scent rubbing off on him. 

God damn it. 

Why did things have to suddenly get so complicated when life had been manageable and as trouble free as possible. 

John had never felt so exhausted and quickly decided that he would not be able to stay in his apartment until Sherlock’s scent had faded. He got up off his bed and cleaned himself up before he packed a small bag with some clean clothes, his medication and his body wash. Walking out of his apartment and locking it up, John made sure his spare key was in his pocket and caught a taxi to the hospital. He spent the night in an on-call room and ended up spending a week in a nice quiet motel close to the hospital.

The days flew by as John threw himself into his work. Working nearly every day to the point of exhaustion, by the time John returned to his flat and was beyond relieved that Sherlock’s scent had faded. There was also no sign that the consulting detective had not returned either. But the Omega in John had found the scene saddening, John had found that his body and emotions had been a wreck since that night. No matter how hard he tried, he had not been able to get the smell of Sherlock out of his memory. What was worse though, as much as John did not want to admit it, he truly did not want to forget it. 

Collapsing onto the couch with a tired groan, John’s phone suddenly vibrated and he picked up to read the new text. He frowned when he saw it was from an anonymous number but he froze at the words on the screen.

_A week for you to return after I had left. Interesting. SH_

John glanced around his flat quickly, looking for any sign of the detective but quickly realised that if Sherlock was here, he would have been able to smell him. He paused and scoffed quietly, shaking his head. How Sherlock possibly know exactly what he was doing? Maybe he wanted him to react suspiciously? Hmm. Well two could play at that game. 

_Sleeping near the hospital is a lot easier when one works there nearly 7 days in a row. No new case then? JW_

John smirks as he relaxed on the couch. Let’s see how he responds to that. 

The reply is instant. 

_Convenient. No. SH_

_But true. JW_

John didn’t receive another reply and laughing, convinced that he had shaken off Sherlock’s suspicions, he got up off the couch and walked into the kitchen. Everything is as he left it and John can’t help but be further relieved that Sherlock’s scent had faded. 

He had been very worried that he would have had to scrub the very walls with his Beta body wash if the scent hadn’t faded. As lovely and alluring the alpha scent was, John knew he couldn’t risk becoming addicted to it. It was bad enough the consulting detective was texting him now. But for the first time John had rather enjoyed having someone to talk to. 

Sparse as it may have been, but running the risk of playing being a beta with the one man who had caused his omega side to _finally_ show. Well, as long as he didn’t get too drawn into playing the character. Maybe it would just be better to get as far away from this Alpha as soon as possible? 

The more John thought about it as he put the kettle on, the more the idea seemed to make sense because he just could not shake the feeling that Sherlock was not going to leave him alone until he had figured out what he was. 

Why oh why could he not just stop reacting? 

Sighing heavily, John opened a nearby cupboard to get out his favourite cup when the kettle finally ‘popped’ and finished boiling.

The exact moment it did, an enormous explosion suddenly erupted from the conjoining apartment and blasted through the walls and into his home. The shockwave hit John in an instant, knocking him off his feet and into corner of the kitchen. The many cupboards that surrounded him burst into a million pieces, sending small missiles of wood flying everywhere. There was a sudden overwhelming pain in John’s left shoulder and he cried out in pain, completely unaware of what was going on and helpless to react. Something large and heavy collided with the side of his head and all John knew was darkness. 

The first sensations that John was aware of as consciousness began to creep back into his damaged body was the sound of multiple machines making familiar noises nearby. Numbness slowly melted into a painful ache that spread through out his entire body. The pain began to grow with every second and soon it was nearly overwhelming as John’s eyes clenched and he groaned. 

“John? John? Are you awake? It’s me. It’s Mike. C’mon John, open your eyes for me. You’ve been asleep for too long. Stop being a lazy bugger and wake up. We need you here,” a concerned male voice spoke to the left of John as he fought to open his eyes.

It was a struggle, his eyelids felt like they were being held down with weights, but John managed to open as the world came swimming back into view. It was incredibly blurry at first but blinking a few times allowed the large brown blob sitting in front of him to slowly form into the familiar, and comforting, form of Mike Stamford.

John sighed in overwhelming relief at seeing his friend in perfect detail. His eyes hadn’t been damaged. He could still see. His hearing seemed to be in working as well.

The relief was shared on Mike’s face as John offered a very small twitch of his lips. God he was sore.

Opening his mouth, trying to say something, John only managed another small groan as his tongue felt both large and extremely fuzzy. Rolling it around his mouth, trying to get it work, he found it hard to be able to produce any saliva. 

As if reading his very thoughts, John watched Mike suddenly appear in front of him with a small cup of water with a straw in it.

“Small sips John.” Mike said with a gentle smile.

The refreshing feeling of the cold water as it ran over his tongue and down his throat caused John to shut his eyes in relief. Mike removed the straw from John’s mouth and placed the cup on a nearby tray.

John opened his mouth and wheezed, “What happened?”

Mike sighed, “You’re currently in ICU John, at St. Bart’s. We’ve been looking after you for the past week. Four days of which you spent in a coma. There was a gas explosion in the apartment next to yours. You’re lucky to be alive.”

Shock washed over John, “A-a gas explosion?” His voice was raspy as he spoke, his mind still fuzzy as he tried to process everything at once. How had there been an explosion? “What…what happened to the people in the apartment?”

The instant Mike’s face grew solemn, John knew. 

“Oh…” he whispered. Tears began to cloud his vision as John stared up at the roof. He hadn’t known his neighbours very well. A married Beta couple, but they had always said hello to him whenever they had walked past.

Both gone in a single instant… Just like he could have been.

Covering his face with both hands, not wanting Mike to see, John started to cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shortest chapter sorry, but it was the most appropriate place to cut it off before diving into what happens next. *rubs hands* Heheheh. Also big thank you to every helpful comment that has pointed out any error I had previously made so I could fix it up. ^^


End file.
